Bringing The World To You: A Guided Tour of Machu Picchu [360° video]

The river you're looking at right now is the Urabamba river. It runs an impressive 725 kilometers through Aguascalientes, the gateway town to the ancient ruins of Machu Picchu. Aguascalientes welcomes around 1 million adventurers each year, who travel from far and wide to stay here before making their way to Machu Picchu. Machu Picchu is one of the seven new wonders of the world. Built in the 15th century as a royal compound, it is believed to be one of the most sacred ruins of anywhere on earth. Machu Picchu stands 2,430 meters above sea level, in the middle of a tropical mountain forest in an extraordinarily beautiful setting. The site would once have contained houses, temples, food storage, water fountains, a guardhouse and even a jail. Did you want to have a look inside? The entire site covers 32,500 hectares, with roughly 200 buildings arranged on terraces around a central square. If you look up, you'll spot Huayna Picchu mountain. Are you up for hiking up it? It's getting pretty late, so time to get our tired legs back into action for the easy walk back down. Let's head back to the hotel. You can spot your room just around the corner, so get some rest. We've got plenty more adventures in store for tomorrow.